Emma on La Vendée

Perhaps less well known to foreign tourists, although hugely popular with the French as a holiday spot, is the département of La Vendée on the west coast of France – it’s basically that bit of the coastline north of La Rochelle and just underneath where Brittany sticks out to the west.

I discovered this largely by accident a few years ago, looking for a beach spot after spending a few days in La Rochelle, and it’s now my favourite bit of France. Here’s why;

Beaches – France has a lot of very pretty coastlines, and not to take away from any of them but La Vendée’s is superb – long, soft, sandy beaches that are much less crowded than the Mediterranean while the Atlantic ocean provides breezes and surf that makes this coastline popular with enthusiasts of wind-surfing, surfing, kite-surfing and sand yachting. 

La Vendée is, imo, the most beautiful of all of France's coastlines and definitely produces the best oysters 😎😋 pic.twitter.com/pz1juebLwa

— Emma Pearson (@LocalFR_Emma) September 24, 2022

Perfect for sunbathing in summer, the beaches are also great for a bracing walk in the winter.

Although not as hot and sunny as the south coast, the climate is generally mild with temperatures falling to 3C-9C in December and January, and the area also largely escapes Brittany’s famous rain. In the summer you can expect temperatures up to around 30C, but that Atlantic breeze keeps it from getting too hot. 

Food and drink – the coast is particularly rich in seafood and you can also pick your own. At low tide you will see dozens of people heading into the rockpools and shallow waters to gather clams, mussels, crabs, prawns and of course the areas’s speciality – oysters.

Be aware that there are limits to foraging for shellfish – pêche à pied – and most beaches have a notice telling you how much you are allowed to take. The limits are generous for personal use, they’re really just to stop commercial foraging, and also be aware of the minimum size limits on what you are allowed to take – this is to ensure that you’re only taking mature creatures and not disrupting the food chains.

If you’d rather someone else did the work then the local markets and restaurants are a seafood fan’s dream, particularly for oysters which are the local speciality – you will see oyster beds all along the coastline and on the islands and pretty much all restaurants sell them. The classic accompaniment to seafood is white wine, and the area produces some excellent whites, especially the vineyards on the Île d’Oléron. 

Nature – La Vendée boasts both an extensive network of sand-dunes that house hundreds of species of birds and the Marais Poitevin, which is France’s second largest wetland area (after the Camargue). 

Marais Poitevin is very different to much of rural France – dead flat, quite hauntingly eerie in the winter and with a stunning array of wildlife. In certain parts of it you can boat through the wetlands or see the salt flats where the famous fleur de sel of the area is produced. 

Places to visit – if you get bored of the beaches, there are plenty of places to visit in La Vendée including the town of Les Sables d’Olonne which hosts both a famous annual yacht race and a very pretty quartier where the locals have made murals out of shells on the walls.

Islands off the coast include Île de Ré, sometimes known as the ‘French Hamptons’ because of the number of Parisians who have second homes there, Île d’Oléron and, further north, Noirmoutier.

Île de Ré and Île d’Oléron are both accessible by car via a bridge from the mainland.  Technically in neighbouring Charente-Maritime, but the cute coastal city of La Rochelle is well worth a visit and has a real buzz thanks to a busy calendar of festivals, a very successful rugby team and vibrant nightlife. 

Practicalities – thanks to all those Parisians and their second homes, there are regular direct trains from Paris to the small Vendée towns of La Roche sur Yon and Les Sables d’Olonne. If you’re flying, La Rochelle has an airport, although it has fewer flights in the winter. Once you’re in the area you can take public transport if you stick along the coast, but for longer travels inland you will probably need a car.  This is very much a holiday area (although it seems that most of the holidaymakers are French) so you’re spoiled for choice for hotels, campsites and Airbnbs. 

Genevieve on Brittany

Home to a rugged coastline, with stunning beaches, turquoise waters, and delicious crêpes and seafood, Brittany is a part of France that everyone should visit at least once.  

Beaches (and islands) – Beaches in Brittany have it all – you can stick to calmer waters on the Gulf of Morbihan or brave larger waves in places like Cap Fréhel.

Fans of surfing might consider heading toward Brest, to beaches like Le Minou. To enjoy the region’s dramatic cliffs, you can go to the Falaises de Plouha, where the tallest ones in Brittany are located. The Emerald Coast is also home to several gorgeous beaches, such as Erquy and Val-André. 

Le joli port de Loguivy de la Mer en Côtes d'Armor#bretagne #cotesdarmor #MagnifiqueBretagne #MagnifiqueFrance pic.twitter.com/CWwFI769E9

— David Deschamps (@deschamps_david) October 18, 2021

Nature lovers do not have to stick to the beaches or islands. There are natural reserves, particularly in the Gulf of Morbihan, which is one of the top birdwatching locations in France. Additionally, hikers can enjoy the GR34, a footpath that takes you along the whole of the Breton coastline.  

As for islands, there are 42 in the Morbihan alone, and many more across the region. Île d’Arz is my favourite – it is small, walkable, and only a short ferry ride from Vannes (a city worth seeing in itself). 

Food and drink – You cannot go to Brittany without eating crêpes (pancakes) and drinking cidre.

Go for sugar-y crêpes or savoury ones (les galettes). A classic recipe is “la galette complète” which has eggs, ham, and cheese. As for a delicious, traditional sweet option, you can go for a “crêpe beurre sucre” (a butter, sugar, no-nonsense crêpe). 

If you want to test some traditional Breton dishes, you ought to try Kouign Amann – a sweet, butter-y Breton multilayered cake. 

I’ve just eaten my first ever kouign-amann, and I think I now have to move to Brittany. pic.twitter.com/ZAPzvEcWZz

— Robert Perry (Pez) (@pez_sez) August 30, 2023

Finally, you should not leave Brittany until you have eaten fresh oysters (huitres). According to the official Brittany tourism site, an ideal seafood platter “contains cooked and raw shellfish: spider crab, brown crab, prawns, langoustines, oysters, periwinkles, whelks, cockles, various types of clams and more.” Be sure to combine with salted butter, a regional delicacy.

Culture – First and foremost – Bretagne is home to a unique Celtic culture and language that is set apart from the rest of France.

In fact, students in Brittany have the option of learning the language at school, and the regional language is still spoken by at least 500,000 speakers. On road signs in Brittany, you will even notice a Breton translation below the French words. Brittany is also home to several historic sites like Carnac, known for its prehistoric standing stones, which date back to the same period as Stonehenge in the United Kingdom. History-lovers can also visit the mythical Brocéliande forest, which was cited in several medieval texts, like the legends of King Arthur. 

The Forest of Broceliande in Brittany was a Celtic Realm of Druids, a home to Merlin! It is said to be a remnant of the World Wood, the primal forest, that, before the Flood, covered all Europe and the lowlands, across what is now the North Sea, even to Britain! #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/JN22Urcy5e

— Ye Wise Olde Witch (@witchwalk) April 23, 2020

Places to visit – As mentioned above, beaches and islands are plentiful. Some of my favourite Breton islands are Île d’Arz, Groix, and Bréhat. You can enjoy historic sites in Brittany like Carnac and Brocéliande. You can also visit quaint towns, of which there are several.

Stop by port towns like Camaret-sur-Mer and Port d’Audierne, or head inland to see the medieval, walled town of Dinan. If you’re a fan of castles and fortresses, there are also many to see. You could go to the Domaine de Suscinio or the 15th century fortified Château de la Roche-Jagu, located along the Emerald Coast. 

Citadelle médiévale au XIe siècle, le château de la Roche-Jagu à Ploëzal fut détruit au XVe.
Rebâti dès 1405, un noble d’un fief rival fit emprisonner les ouvriers pour empêcher la construction. Il fallut l’intervention du duc de Bretagne pour permettre l’achèvement du château. pic.twitter.com/QCOYCxIApE

— Marielle J.PdeG (@Flanerie_art) May 12, 2021

Practicalities – Brittany is well-connected by train and car. Some direct options by train (in just two to three hours) from the Paris region are Concarneau, Rennes, Quimper, Brest, or Vannes. Once you are within Brittany, the majority of the coastline is connected by regional TER trains. You can see the map HERE.

By car, the journey from the Paris region is quite smooth, though you should count about four to five hours of travel-time. By ferry (if you are coming from the UK) you can get to Brittany from Plymouth, Poole, and Portsmouth. These are great options too, as you can bring your own vehicle aboard.

So what’s your verdict – Brittany or La Vendée? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. If you’re not a fan of the west coast, you can also vote HERE for your favourite French beach.